 Ads heard before, during or after the podcast are not endorsed by Paranormality Magazine or myself unless voiced by me personally. All other ads are pre-recorded, inserted by ad agencies and are not under our control. Welcome to Paranormality Magazine. Each week, Paranormality Magazine explores all 40 subjects, from phantoms to UFOs, and every cryptid creature in between. Each week, you're treated to a collection of well-researched and investigated stories, interviews and reports on cutting-edge paranormal projects and topics they know you crave. And here in the podcast, I share stories from the magazine to give you just a taste of what you receive in every issue. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Paranormality Magazine. In the age of social media, urban legends have taken on a new and fascinating form. These modern tales of the supernatural, bizarre and unexplained spread like wildfire across the digital landscape, captivating the minds of millions and evolving into a unique genre of folklore. Just as campfire stories once scared and intrigued our ancestors, the internet and social media platforms have become the digital campfires where we gather to share and perpetuate these captivating narratives. Here, we're going to delve into the world of urban legends in the digital age and explore how social media is shaping modern folklore. Urban legends have been a part of human storytelling for centuries. These stories often blur the lines between fact and fiction, playing on our deepest fears and curiosities. In the past, these tales were spread through word of mouth, written accounts and various forms of traditional media. However, the advent of the internet and social media has revolutionized the way these stories are created, shared and perpetuated. One of the most striking features of urban legends in the digital age is the speed at which they can go viral. A single tweet, post or video can reach millions of people in a matter of hours, creating a sense of urgency and excitement that was previously unimaginable. This rapid dissemination of stories and information has given birth to new urban legends that are born, evolve and die out in a fraction of the time it once took. Slenderman is a prime example of this phenomenon. Created on an internet forum in 2009, this tall, faceless entity quickly captured the imagination of users and became a global sensation. Stories, fan fiction and even real-world incidents inspired by Slenderman began to circulate on various social media platforms, solidifying his status as a modern urban legend. Social media platforms have democratized the creation of urban legends, allowing anyone with an internet connection to contribute to the lore. Creepypasta websites, Reddit forums and YouTube channels dedicated to the paranormal have become breeding grounds for new tales of terror. Users can contribute their own stories, often presented as personal experiences, adding layers of authenticity to the narratives. This user-generated content blurs the lines between reality and fiction, making it challenging to discern fact from fabrication. Stories of haunted places, ghostly encounters and mysterious creatures are shared with such conviction that they gain traction and become part of the digital folklore. The ease with which stories can be created and shared on social media also presents a challenge in determining the authenticity of urban legends. In the past, it was often easier to trace the origins of a legend through printed sources or oral history. However, in the digital age, the true source of the story may be elusive, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. This ambiguity adds an extra layer of intrigue to modern urban legends. The uncertainty surrounding their origins fuels speculation and debate, making them even more captivating to a digital audience hungry for mysteries and the unexplained. Visual media, such as images and videos, play a crucial role in shaping modern urban legends. Photoshopped images, deep fake videos and cleverly edited footage can turn ordinary occurrences into supernatural events. These visuals are easily shared on social media and their impact can be profound. For instance, the Momo Challenge, a viral hoax that circulated on social media in 2018 featured a grotesque and terrifying image of a woman with bulging eyes. It was claimed that this image was connected to a sinister online challenge that encouraged self-harm and even suicide among young users. Although the challenge was ultimately debunked as a hoax, the fear and hysteria it generated were very real, thanks to the power of visual media in the digital age. Social media platforms serve as a vast repository of modern folklore. Hashtags, groups and accounts dedicated to urban legends create communities of enthusiasts who actively participate in the creation, discussion and dissemination of these stories. From Facebook groups dedicated to investigating the local ghost stories to Twitter threads recounting supernatural experiences, social media has become a hub for modern folklore enthusiasts. In addition to textual narratives, social media allows for the preservation and sharing of audio and video recordings, further enriching the tapestry of modern urban legends. As these stories continue to evolve and adapt to the digital landscape, they become an integral part of our contemporary cultural heritage. Urban legends in the digital age have a profound impact on society. They reflect our collective fears, anxieties and desires. These stories can serve as cautionary tales, reinforcing societal norms and values, or they can challenge the status quo, prompting discussions about the unknown and the unexplained. The power of these stories extends beyond entertainment. They can influence behavior, shape, beliefs and even have real world consequences. From online challenges that result in injuries to false claims of paranormal activity leading to property disputes, the influence of modern urban legends cannot be underestimated. Urban legends have found a new home in the digital age, where social media platforms serve as the campfires around which we gather to share and perpetuate these captivating narratives. The speed of virality, the power of user- generated content, challenges and authenticity, the role of visual media and social media's role as a repository all contribute to the evolution of modern folklore. In a world where information travels at the speed of light, urban legends continue to captivate and intrigue us, reflecting our ever-evolving fears and curiosities. As long as there are mysteries to be unraveled and the unexplained to be explored, urban legends in the digital age will continue to shape our modern folklore, reminding us that the world is still full of wonder and mystery, waiting to be discovered in the vast expanse of the digital realm. In a puzzling and eerie series of events, a mother and her daughter were left shaken after a vehicle appeared to approach them and then inexplicably vanished on River Acre Road in Shesher. This bizarre incident is the second of its kind on this road and both occurrences are currently under investigation by Professor Rob Gandy of Liverpool's John Moores University who finds these events incomprehensible. The initial encounter took place in June 2018, when the mother and daughter saw a car with headlights approaching them, only for it to abruptly turn off its lights and disappear, leaving behind nothing but a hedge. Two months later, in August 2018, they experienced another inexplicable occurrence when a man suddenly appeared in front of their vehicle. Believing they had hit him, they exited the car to investigate but found no trace of the man. These unsettling encounters left the witnesses too terrified to return to that road. Professor Gandy, a statistician and health service manager, has been collecting stories of road ghosts and hitchhiker ghosts for nearly a decade. His interest in the supernatural was sparked by his childhood fascination with ghost stories and he has since gathered a significant number of chilling tales from various locations, including the Ruskington Horror in Lincolnshire. Dr. Gandy is actively seeking witnesses to South Whirl's counterparts to the Ruskington Horror, aiming to compile and analyze these perplexing experiences, emphasizing the importance of documenting such occurrences before they fade into obscurity. Have you ever seen the movie Jeepers Creepers? What you might not know is that the beginning scene of Jeepers Creepers, where Justin Long's character witnesses a man dumping behind a building, is actually based on a true story of a murder and a manhunt that happened just outside of Coldwater, Michigan. In April 1990, Ray and Marie Thornton were taking a casual Sunday drive down Snow Prairie Road between Coldwater and Bronson when they saw Dennis DePew's van speeding past them and then a few miles up the road, they saw a man dumping a white sheet with red stains on it, that same van was sitting right there. The Thorntons continued to drive when that van was tailing them and later they saw that man changing out the license plates of the van. While they drove by, the passenger door was open and it was covered with blood. The couple decided to go back to where they saw Dennis dumping the blood stained sheet. They found human tissue and parts of bone. They immediately left to call the police for help. Maryland was found the next day, on April 16, 1990, not too far away from the schoolhouse. Dennis took off and headed to Texas, where he moved in with a new girlfriend. Along the way, he mailed letters to the school where she worked at and others started receiving letters as well. Dennis thought he'd escaped the murder of his ex-wife, but that all came to an end in March 1991 when unsolved mysteries aired the story. Dennis immediately got spooked and took off telling his girlfriend that his mom was sick and he was urgently needed at the hospital. But one of her friends had seen the episode and recognized Dennis and told his girlfriend about it. She then called the police with the new license plate number of the van. Dennis made it all the way to Louisiana before police recognized the van and started a pursuit after him. Dennis managed to get through a couple of roadblocks, but police finally shot out his back tires. This then led to a shootout with police, but it was his own gun that took his life. On March 21, 1991, Dennis DePew took his own life on a highway in Mississippi, meaning Maryland's friends and family would never get real justice for her murder. How did it all come down to this? In April 1989, Maryland filed for divorce due to relationship troubles. Dennis blamed her job at Coldwater High School, where she worked as a guidance counselor. One man described her as, she always had a 50-style haircut and everybody loved her in the community. For that fact, it's pretty crazy to know that this was the inspiration to one of Colt Horwer's favorite films. Dan Costello, a former diver, has come forward with a remarkable account of his involvement in a secretive project that allegedly included Prince Charles, now King Charles. Costello claims that he worked as a diver on Project Scorpio, which took place in Sandy Point, Newfoundland. According to his extraordinary account, the Prince was involved in testing a peculiar helicopter-type vessel with UFO-like characteristics, sparking a wave of intrigue and disbelief. The vessel in question, as described by Costello, had a round, UFO-like shape, featured a propeller and was reportedly created by the American aircraft manufacturer, Sikorsky. What sets this aircraft apart from traditional helicopters is the assertion that it was powered by magnetic force, not conventional engines. Although this unconventional craft does not have any extraterrestrial origins, it would still technically qualify as an unidentified flying object. However, the story takes a bizarre turn when Costello alleges that the Sikorsky prototype was an electrical risk and a target of attacks that resulted in the deaths of original Sikorsky engineers. He claims that numerous turbines experienced emergency shutdowns while submerged, necessitating special forces divers to enter high-voltage risk zones to prevent potential catastrophic events. Costello goes on to claim that both Royal Navy Reserve members and Sikorsky engineering crews lost their lives due to terrorist and vandal attacks on the prototype. This aspect of the story lends an air of intrigue akin to a Hollywood thriller. He further contends that King Charles, Prince Charles at the time, along with his 845 squadron aircrew, extracted the prototype Sikorsky after the original engineers drowned. According to Costello, the uncontrollable events surrounding the craft could have resulted in mass death of tens of thousands across three counties if not for the intervention of the Royal Navy. In another extraordinary twist, Costello describes witnessing a pyramid-shaped UFO in Egypt and recounts a bizarre incident involving the Sikorsky prototype. He claims that an uncontrolled burst of energy from the craft caused a blue flame to emanate from its underside. This blue plasma-like pulse allegedly had the power to transform rocks into glass and tree limbs into cinders without the need for an open flame. Describing a phenomenon, Costello states, the heat transformed the trees along its semaphore-lined flight path instantly into wood ash. It carried along that path somewhat under control of a secondary large-nosed rotary craft which looked like a giant West Hall whirligig. The claims made by Costello while captivating and seemingly fantastical have yet to be substantiated. They've gained attention due to their peculiar nature, prompting further exploration in a documentary produced by Nub TV available at Aizat. Whether these claims are fact or fiction remains a subject of debate, leaving many intrigued and baffled by the astonishing narrative of Project Scorpio and the involvement with King Charles piloting a UFO. The early issue also includes a list of paranormal, horror, UFO and cryptozoology events around the country, incredible paranormal-themed artwork, articles and writing sent in from our readers, suggested books and podcasts to consume, and more. Visit ParanormalityMag.com and subscribe today for as little as $3.99 a month. That's ParanormalityMag.com ParanormalityMag.com In a bizarre turn of events, singer-songwriter Ricardo from Oxfordshire has come forward with a haunting tale of love, divorce and ghostly stalking. Ricardo's otherworldly odyssey began in late 2021 when she claimed to have fallen in love with Eduardo, the apparition of a Victorian soldier who mysteriously manifested in her home. Approximately a year later, Ricardo announced that she and Eduardo had tied the spectral knot, making their union official. However, the relationship took a chilling turn when Ricardo accused the ethereal Eduardo of infidelity, prompting her to call in an exorcist to sever their supernatural bond. Convinced that Eduardo had been banished from her life, Ricardo treated herself to a trip to France in search of a fresh start. While exploring the city of love, she encountered another ghostly suitor named Fabian near the iconic Eiffel Tower. Little did she know her newfound love interest was not what it seemed. Ricardo recounted the eerie encounter saying, I was walking down the banks of the River Seine chasing the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, cowering under my umbrella as raindrops poured off it and then it struck me, glistening in a puddle, the reflection of a French man. I tilted my umbrella back, but nobody was around. I looked back towards the puddle and the man was clear as the ocean. Thinking she'd found a romantic connection, Ricardo began to embrace her holiday romance with this mysterious Fabian. However, her happiness was short-lived when Fabian later revealed himself to be none other than Eduardo in disguise. Ricardo felt deceived, exclaiming, I couldn't believe I'd been catfished by a ghost. As Ricardo attempted to move on with her life, she decided to date living, breathing men. Eduardo, however, was not pleased with her newfound interest in the living. I cautiously started to go on dates with living humans, she explained. I returned home from a date with a bunch of flowers and Eduardo thought it would be amusing to pull the heads off all those roses and scatter the petals on my bed. Eduardo's jealousy took on more sinister forms as he began to display eerie behaviors. Ricardo shared, he's even learned to play careless whisper on the saxophone. I mean, at least I think it's him. The sound echoes in the distance sometimes when I'm taking a bath in candlelight. Desperate to win back her affections, Eduardo underwent a startling transformation. Ricardo described her shock saying, he's even given himself a modern makeover and presented himself as a candle. I thought I was going crazy when the image of him with cropped blonde hair and a pink suit appeared. Seeking guidance, Ricardo consulted a medium who delivered an unsettling revelation. A medium told me Eduardo would always be with me, Ricardo confessed, and that's a thought that I can't come to terms with. Despite her struggle to rid herself of Eduardo's spectral presence, Ricardo remains resolute in her pursuit of a more conventional love life. She concluded, moving forward I feel like I need a bit of flesh on my bones. Skeletons and dead men may seem hot, but in reality they are stone cold, unpredictable and scary. Ricardo's harrowing ordeal serves as a chilling reminder that love, even in the afterlife, can be hauntingly complicated. A knife-wielding butcher, a beautiful bride in white, and a fisherman named Lewis with the blood of two innocent women on his hands are just a few of the many disembodied spirits who roam a group of nine small islands off the shores of Maine and New Hampshire. The mysterious, haunted and terrifying islands are called the Isle of Shoals. Located six miles off the east coast of the United States are a small group of islands called the Isles of Shoals. Vulnerable to New England's cruel and unrelenting weather, it is a place where only the strong survive. The Isle of Shoals' unforgiving, rocky coastline was settled by the Europeans in the early 17th century. They were established as one of the many fishing areas for the British and French colonies, the total area of the islands adding up to only 145 acres. The use of the Isle of Shoals dates back over 400 years. It's been used as both a prominent fishing industry and a desired vacation destination. In its infancy, it was also a place where pirates would lay low, escaping penalties for their past crimes. But pirates were not the only nefarious ones to inhabit the islands. Appledore, a territory of Maine, has the distinction of being the largest of the small islands, coming in at .5 by .6 miles wide. Philip Bab arrived with his family on the island of Appledore during the early 1660s. Bab was known to be an ill-mannered man who was known by many to be wicked and loathsome. Interestingly, he was also reported to have been a shipmate of Captain Kidd, who was said to have murdered his entire crew to protect his buried treasure hidden on the small island. Birds of a feather do indeed flock together. Along with being a less than desirable friend and neighbor, Bab was a butcher, innkeeper, and constable on the island of Appledore. It was in early March 1671 that the butcher lost his life. However, his spirit seems to have decided to stay. The ghostly image of Philip Bab has been seen roaming the island of Appledore's rocky shores during the dead of night. More than a few people have reported seeing a large figure with sunken eyes wearing a butcher's frock and brandishing a knife on the island. One eyewitness stated that he'd seen a mysterious figure walking along the shore of Bab's Cove one night. He described the figure as being large, with hollowed out eyes and sporting a butcher's frock that glowed. Upon approaching the mysterious figure, the witness let out a shrill scream causing the apparition to vanish into thin air. Another native of the island had his own story to tell. While leaving his workshop one night, the man encountered a frightening apparition. The witness stated that the ghostly figure began running straight for him, brandishing a knife. Catching a glimpse of his face by the pale moonlight, he reported seeing the unmistakable image of the angry butcher himself, Philip Bab. Turning on his heel, he headed straight for him, his feet barely touching the ground. The following is a story of a more gruesome nature. During the month of June 1872, John Hauntfit hired Lewis Wagner as a fishing hand to help with the operations of his fishing company. By then, John and his wife, Maren, had been living on the island of Smuttynose for two years. Hauntfit supplied Lewis with a job, food, and a place to live. After working for the Hauntfit family for some time, Lewis decided to venture out on his own. He purchased a fishing boat with the hope of starting his own business. Unfortunately for Lewis, he crashed his boat, which caused his business to fail, and Lewis suddenly found himself broke and destitute. He was forced to spend his days trolling the docks of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, helping vessels tie up as they entered the wharf to support himself. On the afternoon of March 5, 1873, Lewis caught wind that his old employer, John Hauntfit, and his crew would not be returning home until the following morning. Knowing that the Hauntfit cottage would be unattended by John, the out-of-work fisherman devised a plan to burglarize the Hauntfit family home. 28-year-old Lewis Wagner stole a dory and rode roughly 10 to 12 miles from the shore of the Piskatakwa River to the small island of Smuddinos. Now, for all of you, including some of my own family members who believe that a 12-mile trip on a wooden dory would take way too much time for Lewis to have committed the murders, consider this. In 2013, 75-year-old Dan O'Reilly completed Wagner's route from the shore of the Piskatakwa to the island of Smuddinos. He did it in a wooden dory, and he did it in only two hours and 14 minutes. So, now we know, never underestimate the power of a determined man. Allegedly, Lewis' plan was to rob the Hauntfit's cottage after the three women inside, Marin, Karen Christensen, and Anneth Christensen, had gone to bed. With the women asleep, Lewis had planned to sneak in, steal what he could, and get out with anyone being the wiser, a sinister plan that by a deadly margin had failed. Frozen snow could be heard crunching beneath Lewis' feet as he approached the Hauntfit's cottage. He entered through an unlocked door, and in a cruel, premeditated move, he shoved a piece of wood through the latch of the master bedroom's door, locking Marin and her sister-in-law Anneth inside. Startled awake by the family's barking dog, Marin's little sister, Karen, mistook Lewis for Marin's husband, John. Groggie in half awake, she called out to him. In a panic, Lewis beat Karen unconscious with a chair. The other two women, having escaped their room, terrified and recognizing the gravity of the situation, barricaded themselves back inside the bedroom. Marin forced Anneth out through the bedroom window to safety. Unfortunately for her sister-in-law, the decision to escape via the bedroom window landed her right into the waiting arms of Lewis Wagner. He took an axe from the woodpile, and, raising it above his head, killed Anneth with one fatal blow. Her blood quietly spilled onto the pure white snow. Unable to convince Karen to leave the cottage, Marin ran for her life. Heading for the shore on the far side of the small island, she hunkered down until morning. With the safety of daylight and with frozen feet, Marin waited into the breakwater and began waving her arms, attracting the attention of a family on the neighboring island. Upon realizing Marin had successfully escaped, Lewis headed back to the cottage to fix himself a pot of coffee and a snack, but not before delivering the last and final deadly blow to Marin's sister Karen. Before leaving the home for good, Lewis stole all the money on the property, the sum total of $15. One can't help but wonder what kind of a man would justify taking the lives of two innocent women and forever altering the life of a third for $15, a snack and a cup of coffee. A full-scale manhunt would eventually deliver Lewis to the proper authorities, and he would be hanged months later for the grizzly murder of the two island women. The bones of the hunt-vet cottage on Smuddy-Nose Island no longer exist, however its foundation remains. Strange and unusual occurrences are often reported around where the home once stood. Paranormal enthusiasts have left trinkets on the home's foundation that are said to move left and right without assistance. People have also reported a dark and ominous presence on the island. The smell of coffee and malfunctioning equipment is often recorded as well. Other witnesses have claimed to see and hear strange things around the property of the hunt-vet home, and terrifying EVPs of blood-curdling screams have been captured in the cove along the island's rocky shoreline. Interestingly, most believe that the ghost of Lewis Wagner has remained on the island not to harass and terrify islanders, but to atone for his deadly unintended actions. I for one am not buying it. Lewis may in fact also be roaming Smuddy-Nose Island, looking for his axe, the survival tool turned deadly weapon used to terminate the lives of the two innocent women, but the joke's on him. The bloody axe is no longer on the small island, it is stored under glass in the Portsmouth Athenium. Smuddy-Nose didn't just attract the likes of innocent Swedish women, it was a stomping ground for pirates as well. The infamous Blackbeard, the most notorious and feared of all the pirates, was drawn to the Isle of Shoals by way of his honeymoon with his fifteenth wife. Yes, fifteenth wife. According to legend, Blackbeard hit his gold all over the small 25-acre island. However, like most honeymoons, nothing lasts forever. The infamous pirate was soon called away to battle British warships. Before he departed, Blackbeard instructed his wife to stay on the island and guard his gold. Alas, unlike the legendary luck of the Irish, Blackbeard's luck eventually ran out. He was killed off the coast of North Carolina, death by decapitation, compliments of Captain Maynard. Weeding years on the tiny island for her villainous husband to return, Blackbeard's blushing bride eventually died. Never having received closure for her groom's failed return, she has said to roam the island continuing to honor her dastardly husband's order to protect his gold. The ghost of Blackbeard's bride is also said to speak to those who would listen, assuring visitors and islanders alike that he will be back. Witnesses have reported seeing a woman in white staring out into the ocean saying, He will be back. Eerie EVPs have been collected on the island of Smuddynose confirming such events. Others have reported seeing the ghostly apparition of Blackbeard himself. Moving on, we mustn't forget Star Island, the island that is now considered a favorite for spiritual retreats. Once a desolate, uncharted no-man's land, Star Island has evolved into a bustling hotspot for those seeking to connect with the holier side of themselves. With little wi-fi, no cable, and spotty cell service, the odds are more than likely that an energetic connection would be your best and only bet. Two sisters, born and raised in Kittery Point, Maine, spent more than their fair share of time on Star Island since the 1920s, and they've got a few thrilling ghost stories of their own. One sister spoke of waking up in the Oceanic House, hearing furniture being moved throughout the night in the floor above her room. Inquiring about the noise the next morning, she was told no one was up there. Attending a lecture a couple of years later, she learned the area above the space where she had been sleeping was referred to as Ghost Alley. One of the sisters also recalled being a substitute ranger on the island of Smuddynose. Filling in one night for the ranger on duty, she excitedly rode her boat from Star Island to Smuddynose, eager to embark on a solo overnight shift. A little before 1 a.m., she was awoken by the latch rattling on the back door of the Haley House. Upon investigating the noise, the rattling stopped. No sooner did she fall asleep than the rattling started again. She heard the rattling for a third time, but this time it was coming from the room underneath the stairs. Suffice it to say she was more than taken aback, as she knew she was all alone on the island. The same sister tells another scary tale of an early morning spooky experience. The pounding was heard on the front door of the Haley House, again with not another soul on the island. She also claimed to have been locked inside an outhouse on Smuddynose Isle, with only two sleeping companions on the island with her. But ghostly legends are not meant for land alone. A favorite phantom story of mine tells of a ship by the name of Isidor, whose shipwrecked, succumbing to the deadly nature of the sea, immediately surrounding the Isle of Shoals in the year 1842. People have sporadically reported seeing Isidor patrolling the bays, but only for a few moments at a time before her ghostly apparition vanishes before their eyes. Do ghosts exist? I'm not sure we'll ever know. However, what we know for sure is that there are nine tiny islands quietly guarding the shores of both Maine and New Hampshire, and like all good New Englanders, she holds her secrets very close to her vest. The remote group of what some believe are uninhabitable New England enclaves hold not only chilling ghost stories worth their weight in gold, but also the gold itself. Gold that to this day Blackbeard and his obedient bride continue to guard, despite till death do they part. Thanks for listening to Paranormality Magazine. Get more information about the magazine and subscribe to our monthly publication at ParanormalityMag.com or click the link in the show description. And if you're a researcher or investigator, send us your stories. We might feature you in our next issue. If you have a paranormal podcast, you can add it to our website so our readers can find your show. And artists, if you'd like your work to be featured in our magazine or on our back cover, contact us. Again, our website is ParanormalityMag.com. I'm Darren Marlar and I'll have more Paranormal for you next time from Paranormality Magazine.